Pressure
by Roniturtle
Summary: After his family and friends are poisoned, Leonardo is pressured into helping a scheming deity return to her city deep under the sewers so he can save their lives. I own nothing Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, time for another story to be written. Got to get these stories off my notebook and onto the computer so they stop bugging me. This story will have absolutely NO t-cest, maybe some brotherly fluff but nothing more. This is strictly an adventure story that will center around Leonardo. I wrote this story during the 2003 series after watching 'Notes from the Underground' episodes but I decided to base it on the 2012 series. This story takes place after the 'Wormquake' episodes. Please R&R and once again, I own nothing.

PRESSURE

Chapter 1, Prologue

"Yo red," Casey Jones walked into April O'Neil's apartment and looked around. "Ya ready?" He was expecting to see the pretty blue-eyed red head teenage girl in the kitchen waiting for him. "The guys party will be starting soon, we need to get everything ready."

"I'll be right out Case." April called out from her bedroom. "Everything is in the fridge, how bout you start getting things together."

"Kay." Casey responded, walking toward the refrigerator.

Casey began going through the refrigerator pulling out several plastic containers filled with a variety of foods. While in April's bedroom, a young woman dressed in a long flowing black gown with a pale face, sharp features, long dark hair and piercing black eyes bent over April's bed. She gently ran her fingers over April's forehead, caressing her face and humming softly.

The figure straightened and walked over to April's mirror. She smiled at the reflection of April smiling back at her. 'April' turned to look back at the bed and smiled wickedly at the young girl still sleeping peacefully under the covers, laying on her side with her hands placed under her head and her mouth in a smile as she dreamed.

"Come on Ape!" Casey called out causing the figure, now looking like April, to turn away from both the mirror and the sleeping April and finally walking out of the bedroom.

"What took ya so long?" Casey asked as 'April' helped him gather the items. "You're usually waiting for me."

'April' shrugged. "Just putting on some finishing touches," She told him as they made their way out of the apartment. They stepped outside and into the early evening air.

"So when's your aunt coming back?" Casey asked with a leering grin.

'April' looked up at him with a sly smile. "Oh….in about a week," They walked down the stairs of her stoop and she playfully elbowed him. "Why, were you hoping to hang out with me for a night or two?"

Casey chuckled nervously. "Only if you want me to," He said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

They made their way over to a manhole cover and she brought herself up against him with a seductive glare. "Let's get through the party and see where things take us Casey." She whispered to him.

Casey's eyes widen with anticipation as he watched 'April' make her way down into the sewer.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

"Leoooo." A small voice called out timidly from the entrance to the dojo.

"Leeeeoooo." The small voice was now inside the room and was coming closer as well as becoming very irritating.

Hamato Leonardo sat in the dojo, his body relaxed, his eyes closed and a peaceful expression was on his face as he meditated under the large tree. But upon hearing his name being called, his focus was interrupted and he scowled angrily.

"Hey Leo!" Mikey now yelled at him.

Leo leaned away and cringed as his youngest brother called out his name while standing right next to him. "Ugh, whadda ya want Mikey?" He demanded as he leaned slightly away from the over eager turtle while rubbing the ear his orange banded brother just yelled into.

"I was hoping you would go get the pizzas for our party." Mikey asked, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"I thought April and Casey were bringing the pizzas." Leo stated.

"April called and asked if we could since she has other things to bring."

"Why can't you go?" Leo demanded as he stood up.

"Because I'm baking the cake," Mikey smiled and smacked his lips. "And you don't want it to get burned," He smiled at his brother knowingly. "Do ya?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "What about Donnie?"

Mikey watched as Leo stretched. "He's busy in the lab and says he can't leave right now."

"And what's Raph's excuse?" Leo said sounding rather exasperated.

"No excuse," Mikey said with a shrug. "He just told me to leave him alone or he'd slap the green off me." He looked at Leo with hopeful eyes. "So will you go?" He asked, putting his hands under his chin and looking up at his brother with pleading eyes.

Leo let out a defeated sigh. "Okay Mikey." He walked over to the wall and grabbed his katanas. "I'll go."

"And that's why you're my favorite bro, bro." Mikey said as he bounced on his toes following Leo out of the dojo.

Leo muttered something inaudible under his breath as he made his way to the turnstiles. "Party's in an hour Leo," Mikey called after him. "So don't be long."

"Yeah okay Mikey." Leo grumbled and continued his way down the sewer tunnel. 'An hour huh,' Leo thought to himself. He pulled out his t-phone and noticed it was just about six in the evening. 'And it's a nice night.' A sly smile came over his face and he began to run down the tunnels. 'Time enough for a training run.'

While Leo was out on his training run and errand, Casey and 'April' walked into the lair. "Yo dudes!" Casey called out.

"I don't think they're here Case." April started then gasped upon seeing Raph.

"Hey Casey," Raph came out of his room and greeted his friends. "Hey Ape."

"Hi Raph," 'April' greeted him looking rather perplexed. She looked around and frowned when she saw the others coming toward them.

"Hey April!" Donnie came out of the lab smiling widely at the young girl. But his smile faltered as he saw Casey standing to the side of her. "Hey Casey," He said wryly.

"Donatello." Casey replied politely yet rather coldly.

"Alright you guys are here!" Mikey said enthusiastically. He bounded up to the two humans and snatched the items from Casey. "Let's start getting things together." He took 'April's' hand and dragged her into the kitchen. "This party is going to be so awesome!"

"I thought you guys were going to get the pizza." The phony 'April' questioned as she looked around the room.

"I sent Leo." Mikey explained setting the containers on the table. "He should be back by the time we're ready to start."

"Oh." 'April' narrowed her eyes but nodded her head and assisted Mikey in taking the food out of the containers. Together, they began to set things up for their party.

Donnie, who had followed them into the kitchen couldn't help but notice the disappointed look 'April' seem to have on her face as she saw they were all home. "Is something wrong April?" He asked.

"No," She looked up at him. "Why?"

Donnie shrugged. "Well, you seem a little disappointed when you saw that we were all still here." Donnie noted.

'April' smiled at him. "Oh Donnie," She mockingly scolded. "You're so cute." She placed her hand gently on his face and tweaked his cheek fondly. She then turned and continued to assist Mikey in getting things ready while Donnie chuckled nervously and blushed. A short while later, Raph and Casey walked into the kitchen and began sampling the food the two humans had brought.

"Keep eating like that," Mikey frowned at them, "And you're not going to have room for my ultimate masterpiece!" He said as he put the finishing touches on his cake.

"Tust me Mikey," Raph responded as he placed a grape in his mouth. "I'll have plenty of room for your cake and the pizzas."

"Yeah," Casey chimed in. "Been working up an sweat just to make sure I have an appetite for all the great food April made." He looked over and smiled at her causing 'April' to blush.

At that moment, Splinter walked in and smiled upon seeing everyone gathered in the kitchen. "Good evening April, Casey," He bowed his head to them and made his way over to the stove to put on a pot of water to make some tea. A few minutes later, as he sipped his tea, a strange feeling came over him and he turned back to look at the teens curiously. His eyes wandered over to April and frowned at her in concern. "April, are you alright?"

"Of course Master Splinter," She answered smiling up at him. "Why do you ask?"

Splinter shook his head. "You seem a little…different." He answered stroking his long whisker.

"Different how?" Raph asked. "She looks okay to me."

"I'm not sure." Splinter answered, his eyes narrowing.

'April' walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. "I'm alright Master Splinter." 'April' told him. "But you've been through a lot these past few weeks." She smiled up at him. "Perhaps you're still feeling the effects of the drug Shredder gave you."

Suddenly feeling somewhat lightheaded, Splinter nodded and sat down. "Perhaps you are right." He agreed, putting his hand to his head. "Perhaps I am still recovering from everything that has happened over these last few weeks."

"Master Splinter," Donnie walked over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes Donatello," Splinter smiled up at him. "I am fine." He assured him. "As I stated, much has happened these past few weeks and I am probably still feeling the effects from it all."

Everyone nodded as they thought back on the events that had surrounded them since ridding New York of the Kraang worms. The Earthquakes that shook New York had led to the discovery of the worms that produced the mutagen. And Splinter had finally told everyone he knew Karai was his daughter kidnapped by the Shredder so many years ago. And after dealing with the Shredder in his own stronghold, it was clear to them Karai was having second thoughts about things as well.

"Well this party will get the spark back in the old lair!" Mikey whooped as he placed his cake in the middle of the table.

"I was going to make some punch." 'April' announced happily. "Who would like some?" She brought out a large bowl and began gathering a variety of ingredients.

"I'll take some April." Donnie said eagerly as he began to distribute cups.

"Great!" 'April' replied. "Just let me get it ready and everyone can have a cup." She walked over to the counter with the few items and began putting the fruity mixture in a large bowl. Several minutes later, she placed the bowl on the table and began pouring the contents into the cups.

"Shouldn't we wait for Leo?" Casey asked looking around the lair.

"Nah, he'll probably just want tea." Raph snickered then ducked his head sheepishly when his Sensei glared at him. "Not that there's anything wrong with tea." Raph said. He grabbed a cracker with cheese and quickly put it in his mouth.

"Nice one dude." Casey whispered.

'April' finished pouring the fruity liquid into the six cups and handed a cup to everyone there.

"Thank you April," Splinter smiled at her as she offered him a cup. "But I will just enjoy my tea."

April looked up at him with disappointed eyes. "Just one cup Sensei," She implored. "It's a special recipe of my mothers' I would love for you to try." She again held her hand out to him with a cup of punch.

Splinter looked at his student and smiled. "Alright April," He nodded and took the proffered drink. "I will have a cup of your mother's wonderful punch."

"Great!" She smiled and lifted her up own cup. "How 'bout a toast?"

"Sure, why not." Donnie said, smiling at her.

"What shall we drink to?" Mikey asked.

She smiled at everyone as they held their glasses up. "How about…to everything getting back to normal."

Everyone agreed and tapped glasses. They drank the punch and the party continued. No one noticed the look of satisfaction 'April' had on her lips as she watched them drink her 'special' punch.

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Several minutes later, Leo walked into the lair with two boxes of pizzas in his hands. He looked around and frowned when he did not see or hear his family and friends. "Hello?" Leo called out. "I've got the pizzas."

He began to walk over toward the kitchen with a look of curiosity on his face. "Where is everyone?" He called out. It was just before seven and he had expected to see his family in the main room or at least hear them talking or playing when he had come into the lair, so he was very surprised by how quiet it currently was.

He walked toward the kitchen and pulled back the curtain. He stopped short and gasped at the sight before him. His father, brothers and Casey were sitting in chairs, their heads either leaned back or lying on the table, and all were unconscious.

"Sensei," Leo cried out and ran to where Splinter was sitting with his head leaned back and hands limp at his sides. He placed the pizzas on the table and felt his father's pulse. "What's happened?" He ran to Raph who was leaning against Casey. "Raph wake up!" He pleaded, shaking his brother's arm. He was just about to run to check on Donnie and Mikey when a sound just outside the kitchen made him stop in his tracks.

"That's not going to help him wake up Leonardo." A familiar voice said. "None of them will be waking up anytime soon."

Leo turned to see 'April' walking into the kitchen with a smirk on her face. "April?" He slowly walked over to her. "What's going on?"

His eyes widen in shock and he slowly backed away when 'April' began laughing. He watched in dawning horror as she slowly morphed into the tall woman with long dark hair and black piercing eyes. He quickly unsheathed his katanas and pointed them toward her as she moved closer to him.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "What have you done to my family?" He looked around. "And where's April?"

"Put those away Leonardo." She commanded in a loud booming voice. She brought her left hand up and gently moved the swords to the side and walked closer to him. "Those ridiculous weapons of yours will not work on me."

But Leo refused to back down. "Tell me who you are and what's going on." He demanded again as he brought the katanas up to her face. "What have you done to my family and friends?"

The strange woman waved her hand and suddenly, the two swords in Leo's hands were gone. Leo looked at his hands in surprise and then back at her. He balled his fist and took a defensive stance, watching warily as she slowly moved around him, her eyes looking him up and down.

"My name is Empusae," She finally told him. "And I am in need of your help."

Leo startled at her declaration. "I don't care what you need." He told her. "What have you done to my family?" He demanded again with much more forcefulness in his voice.

She leaned closer to him and placed her hand under his chin. Leo suddenly found he couldn't move. He stared up into her eyes in both fear and wonderment. "I have poisoned your family and friends." She informed him, her voice low yet masterful. "Your friend April is in a deep sleep some place safe and both she and the rest of your insignificant mortal family will stay exactly how they are unless you agree to help me." She looked at the kitchen clock then smiled at him with a twisted evil grin. "For now they are fine, but after ten hours…they _will_ die."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

Leo gasped at Empusae's declaration. She removed her hand and he was finally able to move. He looked behind him at his unconscious family then turned back to her. "Why me?" He demanded.

Empusae walked around him with a leering yet disappointed expression. "I wanted you **_and_** your brothers." She told him. "But when I discovered that you were the only one who left to get this…pizza," She shrugged and pointed toward the boxes of pizza, "I had no choice but to poison all of them since my concoction was already created." She again looked him up and down. "Although you are smart, you are certainly not as smart as your brother Donatello." She looked over to the unconscious purple clad turtle whose head was on the table. "And although you are brave and a good fighter, your brother Raphael is much more of a warrior." She looked over to Raph whose head was still leaning against Casey's shoulder. "And you may have wit and charm but your brother Michelangelo is much more creative then you are." Her eyes wandered over to where Mikey was currently unconscious with his head on Donnie's shell. "Let's face it Leonardo," She gave a curt laugh. "You're good but you're better with all your brothers around you."

She turned back to Leo who was looking at her in bewilderment. "If you came here just to be insulting," Leo said but she waved him off.

"I came here to have you **_and_** your brothers **help** me get back to my people." She told him curtly. She looked back at the kitchen clock and grinned devilishly. "You now have nine hours and forty-five minutes to say yes or you can stay here and watch your family, very slowly and very painfully… ** _DIE_**." She hissed bringing her face very close to his.

Leo leaned himself away from her and stared up at her in anger. "I don't even know you and you barge into my home looking like April, poison my family and demand I help you." He shook his head. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?" He demanded. "What if this is all some sort of trap set up by Shredder and my family is going to die no matter what I do?" He narrowed his eyes at her when she straightened up and started laughing.

"No one commands me!" She told him hotly. "As for your family," She waved at them. "I give you my word that once you help me, I will give you the antidote to save all of them as well as tell you where you can find your beloved April." She again looked at the kitchen clock. "Nine hours and forty minutes."

Leo looked between Empusae and his family. For the first time he felt completely hopeless, not knowing what to do. Help this person or not? He mulled the question over and over in his head as he weighed the pros and cons. But no matter how he looked at the situation, his family was in trouble and he, in the end, did not have a choice. He turned toward the tall woman and looked at her warily. "I help you," He slowly repeated, "You give me what I need to save my family."

Empusae nodded and looked again at the kitchen clock. "Yes, and you now have nine hours and thirty..."

"Okay!" Leo yelled exasperated. He let out an annoyed huff. "Give me the antidote now and I promise, I'll help you."

"You'll help me NOW... **THEN**...Iwill give you the antidote." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do not fight me on this Leonardo," She told him. "You will **not** win." She held her hand to him. "Shall we go?"

Leo kept his hands at his sides and looked at her hesitantly, "Where exactly are we going?"

She dropped her hand and began to walk toward the entrance to the kitchen. "To my world, a place deep beneath these sewers," She told him. "To what you mortals would call an underground city," She started walking out of the kitchen and toward the turnstiles. She looked back and watched as Leo slowly and reluctantly began to walk behind her. "There is no need to be cautious of me young turtle." She told him. "As long as you do what you are told then your family, your friends and you will be allowed to have your lives back."

Leo again looked at her warily as he followed her out of the lair and through the tunnels. "You give your word." He clarified once again. "I help you get back to your world and you'll give me the antidote to help my family and friends get rid of the poison and never bother us again?"

Empusae nodded. "That is correct young one." She agreed.

Leo took a deep breath and continued to follow her down the tunnel. "I don't know whether I should trust you or not Empusae….but for the sake of my family I guess I don't have a choice."

She smiled at him. "That is the spirit Leonardo."

Leo put a hand on her arm and forced her to stop and face him. "But let me give you just this one warning." He narrowed his eyes at her and stared intently into her black orbs. "If you try and double cross me, weapons or no weapons, I won't hesitate to find some way to kill you."

Empusae laughed loudly and turned away from him. "You will not kill me." She told him as they continued to walk down the sewer tunnel. "Compared to you, I am a god and nothing you do will harm me." She told him. "But continue to be insolent and I'll make sure your family suffers long after I get what I want."

"I said I will help you and I will but don't underestimate me Empusae," Leo warned again. "I will do whatever it takes to save my family."

Empusae nodded. "Yes, I know you will." She agreed with him. "As will your brothers' which is why I came to you for help," She stopped and regarded him once again. "Just wish I could have all you turtles instead of just one." She mused as they continued.

Leo rolled his eyes and reluctantly continued to follow her. Eventually they came to the Undercity where Leo recognized it to be the place Splinter had fought the Rat King. He swallowed hard and looked at her. "Why are we here?" He demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Far below these sewers is where I was kept entombed and the tunnels below lead to my world," She explained in a dark voice that sent shivers up and down Leo's spine. "I was buried by some evil creatures that attempted to take my powers but failed." She held her hand out to him.

Leo looked at her hand and blinked in uncertainty. "No need to fear me," She assured him. "You take my hand and we will be at the bottom of the void in mere seconds."

But Leo continued to hold back. "How do I know you won't just push me over the edge?"

Now Empusae rolled her eyes at him. "Please Leonardo," She said tiredly. "If I wanted to hurt or kill you, don't you think I would have done that already?"

Leo considered her for a moment before taking her hand. "I suppose you're right." He admitted placing his hand in hers. She nodded in approval then closed her eyes. Leo looked up at her, fear dwelling in his heart as his breath hitched and his body shook lightly. He felt himself begin to pull back as she made her way closer to the edge of the cliff.

Suddenly, without warning, Empusae gripped Leo's hand tightly; he winced in pain as her nails dug deep into his flesh. She pulled him along, inching closer to the edge of the cliff and stepped off. "WAIT!" Leo screamed as they were suddenly plunging into darkness. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact but it never came. Instead, within seconds of closing his eyes, he felt solid ground beneath his feet once more. He opened his eyes and let out a long, shaky breath.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four.

Leo looked up into the darkness and let out a huge sigh of relief. He felt his heart pound hard against his chest as he realized they were on solid ground deep beneath the sewers. He looked around the tunnel they were now in but all he saw was more darkness. He was just about to pull out his t-phone to use the flashlight when a light to the side of him suddenly shone brightly. He turned to see Empusae looking at him, her right hand up and glowing.

She let out a laugh and sneered at him. "I don't require the use of your gadgets turtle."

"And yet you still require me and my brothers to help you." Leo sneered back.

Empusae narrowed her eyes and frowned at him. She huffed then turned and started walking further into the tunnel.

"So are you going to tell how you came to know about us and why you need our help?" Leo demanded walking quickly to catch up to her.

Empusae kept her eyes forward but Leo was certain he saw her roll her eyes at his question.

"If you want me to help you, it would at least be nice to know why." He demanded. "After all, you seem to know about me and my family; it's only fair I know something about you." He gave her a sidelong glance. "Like what happened to you and how you came to be here?"

Empusae huffed, "Very well," She answered rather curtly. "It **is** a long walk and I suppose you do deserve an explanation." She took a breath. "Thousands of years ago, my people and I lived in the world above, carefree and happy. It was paradise." As she spoke, Leo was certain he saw a look of sadness mixed with anger come across her face. "Then one day, these strange aliens known as the Kraang came to the earth and began changing everything. They experimented on the animals and took things from our world back to theirs. We attempted to stop them but their technology was unlike anything we had ever seen before." Leo noticed her left hand balled into a fist and shook lightly. "We have powers but even those were no match for the evil technology of the Kraang." Empusae took a deep breath and hung her head. "My people were forced down here, into the underground world where we created this city that you and I are headed to." She waved her hand between the two of them.

"How can you be sure your people are still alive?" Leo questioned.

"We have an energy source from the world above." Empusae explained. "It is what we call the sun stone."

"How does this sun stone keep your people alive?"

"Although we are considered immortal by your standards," Empusae said with a arrogant tone, "We still require light from the sun to survive, so before we came down here, we managed to capture a ray of the sun within a gem taken from the Kraang."

Leo narrowed his eyes in consternation as a thought crossed his mind, but he said nothing and continued to follow Empusae. "So how did you come to be separated from your people?" Leo questioned.

"I was foolish." She admitted, hanging her head. "I wanted our world back but my people insisted we would do better to just stay down below. But I didn't listen." She sighed deeply and shook her head. "I wanted to confront the Kraang so after many years of being down here, trying to get my brethren to raise an army and get our world back, I went by myself….but I was captured." She clenched her fist and shook lightly. "No amount of power I had could get me free of their contraptions, no matter how hard I tried and fought, they kept me imprisoned and tried over and over again to drain me of my powers." She let out a tired sigh. "But that was something they could not do so they attempted to find where the rest of my people were by probing my thoughts." She gave a short laugh. "But the most they could find out was that they had escaped underground so they brought me down here in an attempt to find them and when they couldn't," She waved her hands around the tunnel. "They locked me in a sarcophagus and placed me deep inside the earth."

She looked at Leo with a somewhat satisfied and strange leering look. "It was not until the earth shook that my tomb was unearthed and I was able to escape. But when I attempted to get back to my city, I discovered many things had changed. Not even with the use of my powers could I get to my people. So I managed to get back to the world above. Shocked by a new world I knew nothing about; I wandered the city and saw you and your family fighting the Kraang and those strange worms and other creatures. I peered into your minds and determined you were what I needed." She laughed and continued. "So I decided to find a way to… _persuade_ you, as it were, and your brothers to help me."

Leo nodded as he listened to her story. "The Kraang have done much damage to my world and everyone I care about too." He told her. "They are a common enemy between us." He glared up at her angrily. "If you had just _asked_ ," he stressed. "I'm sure my brothers and I would have been more than willing to help you." He waved his hands in exasperation. "You didn't need to do all this."

"Perhaps," She responded. "But I had to make sure you turtles would accompany me one way or another." She again seemed to be getting exasperated over the situation. "I only wished you four had ventured to the surface like you normally would do."

"Well you picked the wrong day to hope for that." Leo told her with vehemence.

"Yes," She nodded. "So I gathered that when I ventured into your friend's house, this…April O'Neil." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "I had peered into her mind and found out that she was expecting to go to your lair with your other friend….that….Casey Jones," Leo frowned in confusion as he noted she sounded rather disgusted by the thought of his friend. "I thought it curious she was excited about some sort of celebration but I paid no mind to it when I had her make the phone call to have you four run and get this pizza you all seem to enjoy." She again shook her head. "I guess I should have looked deeper into her thoughts."

"I guess so." Leo agreed rather sarcastically. "We were having a party to try and get Master Splinter out of this depression he's been in since discovering his daughter is actually alive and in the control of his enemy the Shredder."

"So I have come to find out." She told him. "Before you showed up I peered into all their minds, trying to determine what was going on and why you were the only one sent." She shrugged her shoulders. "But no matter, I have you and I suppose you will have to do."

Leo huffed in annoyance and refrained from asking anymore questions. Deep down inside, he still was unsure about Empusae and what she wanted. He didn't and wouldn't trust her but for now, for the sake of his family; he had no choice but to at least follow her and get the antidote. They walked for several minutes without talking as Leo continued to look around the long tunnel. The ever growing fear for his family and what they might end up going through, nagging him in the back of his head. After what felt like hours, Leo pulled out his t-phone and swallowed heavily when he noted the hour.

"How much further is this city of yours?" He demanded.

Empusae looked at him curiously. It was clear to her Leonardo was getting nervous about the passing time. "Not much further," She advised. "We'll be coming to the end of the tunnel soon and then we will have to cross a chasm to get to the city itself."

Leo nodded in understanding and continued to follow Empusae along the tunnel. Eventually, they made their way out of the tunnel and through the opening of a cave. As they walked out, Leo looked around and stared in awe of what he saw. In front of him was a tall rocky mountain with a large stone structure that was surrounded by a large body of water.

He took a deep breath and looked up at Empusae. "Where's the entrance?" He asked as Empusae began to make her way down a sharp incline.

"Down this way," She pointed and continued to easily climb down the rocky slope. "Just follow me Leonardo."

Leo did and very cautiously followed her down the steep incline filled with very sharp pointed rocks. He watched in amazement as Empusae seem to glide herself around the more dangerous of crevices and come to a stop at the very bottom of the hill. She turned and watched as Leo walked slowly, placing a hand on one rock after another to get a decent hold to ensure of not falling forward. After what felt like an eternity, Leo finally came to stand next to Empusae, no longer needing to take hold of anything he let his arms rest by his side and took a deep calming breath.

"Where to now," He asked her looking up at the large stone city in wonderment.

She turned to the right and walked several more feet before pointing to the front of her. Leo cautiously walked over and stared. He swallowed hard and felt his stomach drop. There, directly in front of him was a deep, dark hole of endless blackness that seemed to stretch for miles toward the large mountain. And it was this darken void that had Leo's eyes widening in terror and his heart caught in his throat.

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Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Love reading them so please keep them coming. Next chapter will deal with the others and no worries 'Guest', a later chapter will tell you why Empusae couldn't, or shall we say 'wouldn't', change her plans. Peace :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Back at the lair, Raph moaned as he slowly began to waken. He put his hand to his head as it pounded from a throbbing headache. "Ohhhh, what was in that punch?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Ummm, I'm not sure," Casey muttered next to him, wincing as he moved. The two boys looked around and saw Splinter, Donnie and Mikey slowly begin to come around.

"Thank goodness." Raph muttered as he saw his brothers and father beginning to sit up.

"Owww my head," Mikey moaned as he sat up. "What happened?" He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and forcing his eyes to focus on everything around him.

"Is everyone okay?" Donnie asked, looking around. "Sensei, are you alright." He stood up slowly and, still feeling slightly dizzy, very cautiously made his way over to Splinter.

Splinter slowly blinked his eyes and looked at his sons and Casey. He put a paw to his head and nodded. "Yes Donatello, I am alright." He told him as Donnie placed a worry hand on his paw.

"Has anyone seen April?" Casey asked looking around in concern.

Everyone stood up and began looking around. "Looks like Leo was here too." Mikey pointed to the pizzas sitting on the table. "Wonder where he went off to?"

"Hmmmm," Donnie tapped his chin. "Leo's missing, April's missing." He shook his head slightly. "We were out…" He looked at the clock. "Looks like for almost five hours." He pulled his t-phone out and attempted to call both April and Leo. He frowned and shook his head. "Didn't pick up," He told them, "Went straight to voicemail." Donnie put his t-phone down and leaned against the table, his head swimming lightly.

"Something very bad is happening." Mikey said nervously making his way toward the entrance to the kitchen. "We need to find them."

"We will my son." Splinter assured him. He placed a paw on Mikey's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "But we also need to know what happened to us."

"Yeah, I don't know about you guys but I'm still feeling kinda weird." Casey said, putting a hand to his forehead and shaking his head lightly back and forth, grimacing in pain as he did.

"That's because you are kinda weird." Raph told him, trying to lighten the mood, but unfortunately it did not help. "But I'm with ya Case." Raph said sitting back in his chair and taking a deep breath. "My head feels like a bongo monkey is banging cymbals against it." He rubbed his eyes and ran his hand over his head.

"It is clear we are all still feeling the effects of whatever it was we were given." Splinter agreed and looked at Donnie. "Donatello, I want you to stay here." Donnie looked up at him with worry. "It will be a good idea to have someone here in case Leonardo or April should show up. I also want you to try and discern what drug was used on us." Donnie nodded, wincing as he did. "Michelangelo and Casey, you two stay together and go down the right side of the tunnel to look for them." He now turned to Raph. "Raphael, you and I will look for them going down the left side." He looked at the four teens, worry etched in his features. "If anyone starts to feel they are getting worse, both parties should return here immediately." He ordered. "We do not know what can happen to us so we should try to stay together and get to a safe place where we can get help."

"Hai Sensei." His sons chorused. "Yes Splinter." Casey muttered as he followed Mikey out of the lair.

They turned to the right and walked down the tunnel further into the lair. "April!" Casey called out. "Leo!"

"April, Leo, where are you guys?" Mikey yelled. "Can you hear us?"

Casey looked at him dumbfounded. "Don't you think they'd answer if they could hear us?" He asked.

Mikey chuckled and looked at him sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I guess so."

"Boy, this place is starting to give me the creeps." Casey muttered rubbing his arms. His eyes darted from one side of the tunnel to the other. "Is it my imagination or are we being watched?"

"Yeah, it's your imagination dude." Mikey assured him. He looked from one side to the other and smiled. "See, it's just the rats peeking out at us." He looked into a pipe and smiled while waving his hand at a furry rat that looked back at them curiously.

Casey shuddered. "I am never going to get use to this." He muttered and continued to call out for April.

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Meanwhile, Splinter and Raph had taken the left side of the tunnel. They slowly made their way, quietly looking and listening for any sign of the missing teens.

As they walked, Raph rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It just doesn't make sense." Raph muttered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"What is that my son?" Splinter asked him keeping his eyes focused in front of him.

"How could someone find the lair?" Raph wondered. "And who drugged us?" He ran a hand over his throbbing head and winced as the headache felt like it was getting stronger. "And why take Leo and April." Raph shrugged. "It just doesn't make sense." He repeated sounding thoroughly exasperated.

"I agree Raphael." Splinter told him. "And I believe we will find the answers once we find Leonardo and April." He took a breath and rubbed his tired eyes hoping to will his growing headache and worry away.

"I'm sure your right Sensei." Raph agreed. "I just wish we had some sort of idea as to why this is happening." Splinter nodded but said nothing. He continued to search for his missing son and red-haired girl he had come to know as his own daughter while his mind registered all that Raph had said. He too wondered why these things were happening but for now, his worry was growing over Leonardo and April possibly being taken by some evil force.

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Back at the lair, Donnie grabbed one of the cups of punch and a variety of food. He made his way into his lab and began pulling out his equipment while mulling over the situation. "I wonder if maybe the Kraang managed to find April and take her." He wondered to himself as a twinge of panic slowly crawled its' way up his body. "Maybe Leo walked in and tried to stop them so they took him too." He grabbed an eye dropper and placed a small amount of the punch into the dropper. He took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts away as he attempted to focus on his task.

"No," Donnie muttered as he grabbed a slide to put the punch on. "We would not have been drugged if the Kraang showed up after we got there and Leo would not have had time to put the pizzas on the table." He gave a light chuckle at his absurd thinking. "Nah, if the Kraang had their way they'd kill us, not drug us."

"Of course," Donnie continued to muse as he placed a drop of the punch onto the slide and place it underneath his microscope. "It does seem strange that both Leo and April are not here and we're the only ones that were drugged." Donnie narrowed his eyes. "And April was the one that made the punch and brought the food." His eyes widen in horror as that one thought crossed his mind. "Would April do this to us?" He frowned in thoughtfulness as he straightened up. He shook his head in determination as he processed that information. "No!" He scolded himself. "April would never hurt us like this." He winced and forced his eyes back to the microscope while his fingers fiddled with the knob attempting to bring the microscope into focus. "Hummm, nothing."

He picked up the food and did the same with each one. Placing a slide with a small amount of food under the microscope and proceeded to examine each. Still nothing, all the food and punch seemed fine. Donnie sat down in his chair with a huff and rubbed his temples as the headache began to slowly cause his head to throb. But even through the headache, he couldn't help but think back on the look April had given them when she came into the lair.

"She did seem confused that we were all here for some reason." He told himself. "I wonder why." He got up and walked over to the table where he kept a variety of chemicals. "Maybe she was hoping to surprise us with something?" He mused as he laid the food and fruit punch onto the table and again began to examine the contents of everything. "But what about Leo?" He again frowned in concern. "Why is he not here?"

His eyes widen as a thought suddenly came to him. "Leo and April?" He violently shook his head as though that simple act would force that thought out of his head but only caused him to groan in pain as his head began to ache more. "No….Leo would never do that to me." He said angrily, squeezing his eyes shut. "Leo knows how I feel about April." He forced himself to continue to again concentrate on the task at hand when the sound of laughter reached his ears.

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"Do we have any idea where we're even going?" Casey demanded as they walked aimlessly through the sewers. "I feel like we've been walking around for hours!" He grabbed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of pain flooded over him.

"No worries Casey." Mikey told him. "I know the sewers like the back of my hand."

Casey turned to look at Mikey and frowned when he saw the young turtle typing on his t-phone. "You mean you would if you'd pay attention to where we're going!" He yelled snatching the phone away from Mikey.

"Casey!" Mikey protested. "Give that back!"

He attempted to grab his phone away from Casey but the tall teen kept his back to Mikey keeping Mikey away from the front of him and the phone away from Mikey. "I wasn't playing on it!" Mikey insisted, "I was trying to text Leo and April, to see if I could get a fix on their cells or maybe have them text me back!" He angrily pushed Casey from behind and watched as the teen fell to the ground.

"That's a bunch a bull and you know it." Casey retorted as he rolled over to look up at Mikey. He kicked up at him when Mikey attempted to get the phone away from him. "I saw the game you were on! I know exactly what you were doing!" Scowling in anger, he threw the phone hard at the sewer wall and both he and Mikey watched as it smashed against the wall. "You are so USELESS Mikey!" Casey screamed at him.

"CASEY!" Mikey yelled in disbelief.

"Now I can see why your brothers think you're such a goofball!" Casey yelled jumping up and pushing the turtle away from him. "You never take anything seriously!" With that, Casey turned and ran down the tunnel in the opposite direction.

Mikey winced in pain and walked over to his broken phone. "I'm not a goofball." Mikey mumbled sadly as he slowly picked up the remnants of his t-phone. "And I am taking this seriously." Mikey stood up and looked around. "Casey!" He cried out. He looked around and suddenly started to feel a new fear settle into him. As he looked at the different tunnels, wondering which one Casey may have gone down, he rubbed his forehead and frowned. He attempted to focus but the dull ache behind his eyes was making it rather difficult.

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"We're not getting anywhere looking for them." Raph groused. "We should head back to the lair!" He insisted ready to turn around. "Both Leo and April could already be there by now."

"If they are, Donatello or Michelangelo would have sent us a message by now." Splinter replied. "No, we keep looking." He pressed onward. "Your brother and friend could be hurt…or worse."

"You wouldn't spend this much time looking if it was one of us." Raph groused quietly. "You probably wouldn't even have left the lair." His voice was low but filled with contempt

But Splinter, with his good hearing, had heard what Raph said and noted the way he said it. He turned toward him with narrowed, disbelieving eyes. "Why would you say that Raphael?" He demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Raph almost yelled. "If it was Donnie, Mikey or me, you would just send someone out to look for us while you stay at the lair and meditate like you always do. But since it's your golden boy Leo, you leave the lair desperate to find **HIM**."

"That is not true!" Splinter insisted loudly. "I would look for you as well as the others under the same circumstances."

"Sure you would," Raph clenched his fist and stopped walking. "Just admit it Sensei!" He demanded. "Leo has always been your favorite son and the rest of us mean **NOTHING** to you!"

Splinter gasped and stared at his son in shock. "That is enough Raphael!" He yelled back. "I love and care for all of you equally!" He insisted.

"Yeah right," Raph sneered. "Why you even bothered to bring the rest of us home after we were mutated is beyond me!" He pointed a finger at Splinter. "I'm surprise you just didn't abandon us on the side of the road somewhere and pretend we never existed." He yelled pointing a finger at his sensei.

Splinter's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "No my son," He told him reeling backward at the accusation, feeling as though he had just been slapped in the face. "How could you even think something like that?" He reached out to take Raph's hand but the red turtle slapped it away.

"How could I not!" He yelled and turned away from his father.

Splinter watched in astonishment as Raphael began to run down another tunnel. "No Raphael!" He called out, his hand outstretched and reaching for him. "Please my son, come back!"

Splinter staggered forward as a wave of dizziness came over him. He turned and leaned heavily against the wall and put a paw against his eyes. He took deep breaths in order to calm himself and once he felt he was again in control, he straightened up and started to follow Raph. But a sudden noise from behind caused him to whirl around.

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As the sound of laughter increased, Donnie cautiously made his way out of the lab. The laughter sounded like it was April's laugh but there was something strangely different about it. He walked over to the main room and peered around. His eyes narrowed when he saw no one.

"Must be this headache," He told himself as he turned to make his way back into the lab. But stopped once again as laughter could now be heard coming from the kitchen. Donnie took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to the curtain that separated the living area from the kitchen. As he placed his hand on the fabric, intending to pull it back, the laughter again increased, but as soon as he pulled the curtain to the side, the laughter stopped and once again, Donnie saw he was still alone.

His eyes played over the kitchen, noting the little clock across the room on the wall showed it was going on almost six hours since they discovered Leo and April were missing. "Why them?" Donnie again wondered to himself. "Why are **_they_** not here and **_who_** drugged us?" He again turned to go back to his lab, staggering as he did. He placed his hand on the wall and leaned his head against it. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to fight the wave of nausea and dizziness. "I have to figure this out and soon." He mumbled. He straightened and forced himself back to his lab to continue his experiments.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six.

Leo looked across the deep chasm then down into the dark abyss. He could feel Empusae's eyes leering at him with a hint of amusement deep beneath her dark eyes. "Do you have a fear of heights Leonardo?"

Leo shook his head and swallowed hard. "Not normally no." He took a deep breath and turned to look up at her. "Just wasn't expecting such a deep hole far beneath New York city." He said looking back at the abyss. "That's all."

"There are many things beneath several of your cities all over the world." Empusae advised him. She leaned closer to him. "You would be surprised by what you could find if you _dig_ deep enough." She hissed in his ear.

Feeling her breath across his neck and the words she spoke caused him to shudder. He turned to look at her with extreme curiosity. "Why do you not just float across or use those powers of yours?" He demanded feeling a sense of apprehension come over him.

Empusae shook her head and a look of despair shown in her eyes. "The further down we go, the more my powers diminish." She held her right hand up and Leo noticed the light that shown from her hand while in the tunnel did not shine as brightly as it had before. "I need the light of the sun to enhance my powers and down here, I don't have that."

She pointed to the abyss. "If I was to attempt to float over, my powers would not last long enough to get across." She advised him. "I would fall to my doom and, I don't know about you, but I do not wish to find out how far down the abyss truly goes."

Leo sighed and looked back at the large chasm. "So how do we get across?" He asked. "Is there any way we can cross over the water?"

"There used to be a bridge here." She answered. "That has always been the only way. We used the water to ensure any enemies, such as the Kraang, that attempted to get across could not." She pointed toward the large structure. "Normally, we would have sentries keeping watch over the bridge but as you can see," Both Leo and Empusae roamed their eyes over the turrets. "No one is there any more." She turned back to Leo. "And the fact that the bridge is gone means something has happened to my people."

"It has been several years." Leo pointed out. "Maybe your people are no longer here because…." Leo waved his hands in uncertainty. He could only think that her people were just no longer around because they had probably passed on. But Empusae shook her head.

"As long as we have the sun stone, my people will **not** die Leonardo." She told him with a matter-of-fact tone. Leo attempted to say something but was quickly cut off. "And any chance of the sun stone dying out is highly unlikely." She walked over toward a tall black obelisk with strange writing on it and began running her hand over it. "No, something **has** happened and I need to find out what." She turned back to look at him. "This was not here when I left all those many years ago." She told him, turning back to the tall monument. "According to the writing, in order to cross the chasm one must have a child like view in order to see the way." She turned to Leo. "Now do you see why I am in need of your brother Michelangelo?"

Leo thinned his lips and frowned at her. He turned toward the chasm and narrowed his eye ridges. "A child like view," He hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. He thought of his youngest brother and how Mikey always seem to be so happy about everything. He never let things get him down for long and he always attempted to help his big brothers stay happy too. And Leo as well as the others always wanted to make sure Mikey stayed that way. Happy and innocent, Leo rubbed his chin again.

'Innocent.' He mused to himself. 'Mikey always looks at the world in an innocent like way, a happy way, just like a child would.' Leo closed his eyes and thought back to a time when he thought like Mikey did, long before he and his brothers had gone to the surface, back to a time when they were all happy and innocent. He opened his eyes and looked back at the chasm. No longer was there a deep dark empty void in front of him, but instead a long bridge with a glass covering over it leading to the large mountain.

He took a deep breath and gave a small smile as he placed his right foot, very cautiously and very slowly, onto the bridge. He glanced upward and breathed a small sigh of relief when he felt his foot hit solid ground.

"Well done Leonardo." Empusae complimented upon seeing the bridge materialize in front of her when Leo's foot stepped upon it. She stepped onto the bridge alongside him and the two walked the bridge in silence.

As they walked, Leo surveyed the underground cavern, something about all this did not sit right with him. "Something troubles you Leonardo?" Empusae asked.

Leo looked up at her. "You told me the water is used to keep enemies like the Kraang out," Empusae nodded. "How is that possible when the Kraang have devices that allow them to hover and fly?"

Empusae gave a light laugh. "When we created this place," she waved her hands at the water on the other side of the structure. "We added what you would call a chemical to the mix," She looked over at him with a wicked grin. "It caused the water surrounding our city to become very poisonous as well as emit vapors into the air just over the water that can kill." She gestured toward the water. "That is why my people and I built this bridge with the glass covering; the toxic fumes cannot reach us. And if the Kraang or any enemy attempted to cross, we would not hesitate to destroy the bridge."

Leo nodded in understanding and they continued down the bridge silently. Eventually, after several long minutes, they finally made it to the other side and Empusae walked up to a long iron door. Leo watched as she reached out and placed her hand on it. She attempted to move it but it would not budge. She huffed in annoyance and turned to Leo. "This is the only way into our stronghold." She told him looking back at the door in obvious frustration. "And although there had always been a door here, it was never this difficult to open." She stepped back and scanned the door. "This door is different then what was once here and it would take several more hours to go around the structure to try and find another way in." She again looked at Leo expectantly. "Care to try and figure out how to open it?" She stood to the side and Leo walked up to the door.

Leo took a moment to stare at it and narrowed his eyes in wonder. He placed his hand on the door and ran his hand along the metal, furrowing his forehead in curiosity. "There are four squares on this door." He noted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Empusae nod. "Each square has some sort of symbol on it and…they seem to be movable." He pointed to the bottom left square. "This square has what looks like the sun and moon on it," he pointed to the one next to it, "this one has an eye inside a triangle or perhaps a pyramid of some sort." Leo ran his hand over the top left one, "This looks like a symbol of a figure or person encircled by a snake or maybe a serpent of some sort," He now put his hand over the top right one. "But this square doesn't have symbols like the other squares," Leo noted. "This square is filled with some sort of lines." Leo stood back and frowned in wonderment at Empusae. "Why is that square different?"

Empusae stepped forward and looked closely at the square. "Because those markings are bits and pieces of my language," She said. She looked at the markings closely, examining every inch of the square. "But it doesn't really make sense." She muttered sounding clearly puzzled.

"What?" Leo asked, watching as she ran her hand over the square. "What doesn't make sense?"

"If I'm reading these markings correctly, it says in order to gain entry, the day and night must become one when one looks upward." She sighed tiredly and gave him a weary look. "I would expect your brother Donatello to be able to figure out this riddle in a matter of seconds."

Leo scowled at her. "As you pointed out Empusae, my brothers and I each have a special talent that makes us unique and while I do better with my brothers with me, I **can** figure things out on my own." Leo pushed his way pass Empusae and looked over the four squares. He hummed and eyed the door for several moments before suddenly snapping his fingers. "Aha," Leo exclaimed proudly.

Empusae watched Leo anxiously from behind as he began to push against the square with the moon and sun symbol. After several seconds he let out a loud grunt of frustration and stepped back. "To gain entry the day and night must become one when one looks upward." He mused. "I thought if I pushed the symbol of the moon and sun together it would open the door." He said to Empusae. "There has to be something more."

Empusae pointed to the square with the writing. "What about this part here…? 'When one looks upward,' she questioned.

"I'm not sure what that means." Leo told her as he continued to mull over the riddle and stare at the other squares. After a few moments, he snapped his fingers. "Or maybe I do." He said excitedly. "I think I need your help." He placed his hands on the sun and moon symbols again and looked over to her. "While I bring these together, you move the eye upward."

Empusae nodded and placed her hand on the eye symbol. Together, they moved the symbols and seconds later, the door moved upward.

"Yes!" Leo yelled in triumphant. He looked back at Empusae with a smug smile. "After you," He said as he swept his hand toward the entrance.

"Very good Leonardo," Empusae smiled at him. "Donatello would be proud."

She started to walk inside. "You're going to want these." She told him, waving her hands.

Leo blinked when he felt the familiar weight of his katanas once again in his hands. "Great, but…why do I need these," He asked warily of her as he sheathed his weapons.

She smiled back at him. "For whatever might be inside." She answered with what looked to Leo to be a devious expression on her face.

Empusae walked forward and Leo, frowning behind her as once again something about all this nagged him in the back of his mind, followed her inside looking around cautiously.

They walked into a long entryway which led to a very large, open and majestic room. As he looked around, Leo noted the inside was nothing like the outside. While the outside was made of stone, the inside was made of a type of glass and in every corner of the large room, was an entry way with two large round pillars on either side of the doors. On the pillars was the strange writing of Empusae's people, and directly in the middle of the large room was a large black pedestal with a giant flaming ball of fire encased in what appeared to be a Kraang communication orb hovering over it.

For a moment, Leo forgot about the urgency of the mission and looked around in awe and wonder. "Whoa." Leo breathe. "Donnie would go crazy in here," He pulled out his t-phone and quickly began taking pictures. As he did, he noted the time and realized it was going on almost six hours since they had left the lair. "Empusae, I'm running out of time." He told her. "You need to give me the antidote and get me back to my home now."

Empusae walked over to the large obelisk and ran her hand over the orb. "Can't you feel it Leonardo?" She asked, completely ignoring his demand. "The power that runs through it gives this place life." She looked around the large room. "More life and power then all the universe itself has within." She took out a pendant from around her neck and began to play it over the orb.

Leo watched her while his eyes occasionally darted around the room. "Where are your people Empusae?" He demanded.

"They are here," She told him sounding completely mesmerized by the orb. "Exactly where I left them…all those many years ago."

Leo narrowed his eyes at her. "Where you left them," He repeated. He felt his heart suddenly leap into his throat as he again looked around the vast room. "Empusae, I demand you give me the antidote and send me home…NOW!"

She turned and looked at him with an evil smile on her face. "I can't let you leave yet Leonardo." She told him. "I still need you."

Leo scowled at her. "For what?"

"For him," Empusae said mysteriously as she continued to wave her pendant over the flaming orb.

Before Leo could ask any further questions, a loud screeching noise sounded from behind him.

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Okay, I know this story is going a little slow but things will be happening in the next chapter. Thank you to all who review. I love getting questions too, it reminds me that I need to add a little more information to the story that I may have not thought about when I first write my story. So please, if there is a question you have, let me know. If the next chapter doesn't answer it, I'll add it into the story in the future. Thanks and peace. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone, time to post another chapter. This chapter will deal with the others back in the sewer and just a head's up on this one, please keep in mind everyone is hallucinating and dealing with their own issues. I can't go into any specifics without giving out too much detail. So as always, please enjoy and R&R. Peace :)

Chapter seven.

Casey ran down the sewer tunnels, his eyes darting left and right in an attempt to figure out what was going on. The water beneath his feet splashed loudly and sweat poured down his face as his head pounded in pain. He turned the corner and stopped short when a familiar figure appeared in front of him and called out his name in a very loud and angry voice.

Casey stiffened and gasped in shock as a tall dark-haired figure began to emerge from the shadows and walk over to him. "Dad?" He said in confusion. "How…how are you….how did you find me?"

"No good pathetic kid." His 'father' sneered at him as he walked closer to him. Casey backed away as his 'father' clenched his fist and spoke angrily to him. "You take off and come down to these filthy sewers while I'm at home taking care of your sister!" Casey fell backward as his father's fist smashed into the wall. "You leave me alone day after day and night after night to deal with all the problems at home while you're out gallivanting around the city. All this time you've been lying to me!"

"It's not like that dad!" Casey yelled backing away in fear as he watched his 'father' spit fire at him.

"You're nothing but a disappointment to me!" His 'father' continued to yell as he crept closer to him, his face contorted in fiery anger and rage. "You prefer to be with these pathetic **FREAKS** then be with your own family!" His 'father' started laughing evilly. "You're such a loser you can't even win a girl over one pitiful mutant!" He sneered. "If you were any kind of a man, any kind of a SON, you would take these disgusting **FREAKS** down and show this April girl what kind of a man you can really be." He spat. "You want to make me proud…you want to show me you have what it takes to be a man…..than STAND UP AND BE A MAN YOU PATHETIC DAMN NO GOOD SON!" His 'father' screamed. "Show ME what kind of a son you can really be!"

Casey grabbed his hockey stick from his back and stood up. He gripped it tightly and leered angrily at his 'father'. "I can do better than show you." He told him. "I'm actually gonna do it." With that, Casey turned and began angrily walking back toward the lair.

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Mikey stood in the tunnel of the sewer, staring straight ahead feeling lost and confused for several long minutes. Occasionally, he would look down at his hand at the broken t-phone and attempt to focus on what had just happened but the pounding in his head made it difficult. "I'm not useless." He muttered as he finally began to slowly walk down one of the tunnels. "And my brothers don't think I'm a goofball either."

"No Mikey," A familiar voice said quietly behind him. "We don't think you're a goofball."

Mikey turned and smiled widely at the sight of his brother Leonardo walking toward him. "Leo!" Mikey yelled happily. "You're here!" He began to run toward him until he saw 'Leo' unsheathe his katana and wave it in his face. "What are you doing Leo?" Mikey said as he stopped and began to slowly back away as 'Leo' began to creep toward him.

'Leo' sneered at the orange banded turtle. "Letting you know just how much of a disappointment you really are to me Mikey." His so-called brother sneered. "You may not be a goofball but to me..." Mikey watched in mounting fear as 'Leo' began swinging his katana back and forth in front of his face. "You're nothing more than a big…fat…LOSER!"

Mikey's eyes widen in disbelief at what 'Leo' said. "Leo…Why…why would you say that to me?"

"Because it's true Mikey!" 'Leo' yelled at him. "I can't even think of you as a real ninja."

Mikey continued to walk backwards and shake his head in bewilderment as 'Leo' continued to throw insults and angry taunts at him.

"You never focus, you're never serious and because of you." 'Leo' scowled angrily at him. "I almost died on the technodrome!" He swiped his katana at him. "And all because you couldn't keep up!"

"No, that's not true!" Mikey cried out as he ducked the swipe. He pressed himself against the wall and covered his ears, slowly kneeling onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as the apparition continued to scream at him.

"You're nothing but a waste of space Mikey!" 'Leo' continued to yell, "Why don't you just do everyone a favor and leave!"

"No, no, no!" Mikey cried out. He turned to the wall and hid his face as more tears flowed down his cheeks. He shook hard as 'Leo' spat fire at him.

"Or better yet Mikey," 'Leo' scowled. "Stop being such a coward and just do yourself in."

"Why Leo," Mikey continued to cry. "Why would you want me to do this?"

"Because I don't want losers like you on my team!" 'Leo' yelled at him. "And I **HATE** losers!"

"Please Leo," Mikey whimpered. "Please stop…..I…I love you bro."

"Well I **hate** you Mikey." 'Leo' threw back at him as he brought his katana down beside Mikey causing the smaller turtle to flinch.

"Leo Please!" Mikey wailed.

"Do it Mikey!" 'Leo' continued to yell ignoring the smaller turtle's plea. "Take your kama and use it to just slit your wrist." 'Leo' demanded. "We would all be better off without you anyway," Leo's katana swiped just above Mikey's head. "Wouldn't we Mikey!"

"Leo," Mikey sobbed, shaking hard. "Please stop."

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Raphael ran further down the sewers, seething angrily and cursing out loud. "Damn you Leo!" He yelled into the air. "You just have to go and screw up everything, don't ya...you asshole **JERK**!" He clenched his fist and let out a loud cry. "If you're going to run away Leo then why don't you just stay away!" Raph put his fist against his eyes as the pounding in his head grew and became louder. ""We'd be better off without you anyway." He said in a low tone.

"Would you Raph?" A weak and shaky voice said behind him. Raph turned to see 'Leo' sitting on the ground, leaning heavily against the wall. His face was sickly pale and a small stream of blood slowly seeped out in between his fingers from the front of his body. "Would you prefer I leave and not come back?"

"Leo?" Raph looked at 'Leo' in shock. "What happened?"

"Why do you care Raph?" 'Leo' asked. He coughed and spit out a small trickle of blood. "You never cared about me before. You always hated me."

"No Leo," Raph came closer to him. "I…I've never hated you."

"Then why did you do this to me?" 'Leo' asked looking up at Raph with vacant and hollow eyes. "It's because of you this happened."

"No." Raph said kneeling before him. "No I…I could never do this."

"But you did Raph." 'Leo' told him. "This is all because of you." Leo removed his hand showing a deep yet small hole in his chest where the blood was flowing freely from.

Raph shook his head violently back and forth. "No Leo, please." He cried. "I do love you; I don't want you to leave us."

"I'm so cold Raph." 'Leo' whispered. He slumped against the wall and slowly started to fall to his side. "I'm so scared." He looked up at Raph, tears falling from his eyes. "I don't want to die."

"I don't want you to die either Leo." Raph said. "Please don't leave me…I…I need you."

Raph watched in horror as 'Leo's' body slowly started to turn black and crumble while his eyes sank into their sockets. "Then come with me Raph." 'Leo' told him. He weakly held out a bloody hand and looked at Raph expectantly. "Don't let me die alone." He begged. "You did this to me… _cough_ … so you should come with me." Raph's jaw slowly slacked opened and tears began to well up in his eyes. "Splinter will disown you… _cough_ …and are brothers will hate you when they learn what you did." 'Leo's' eyes pleaded silently up at Raph as his body began to deteriorate in front of him. "Do it Raph." 'Leo' implored his voice barely a whisper. "Take your sai….and join me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Splinter turned toward the sound of walking footsteps coming toward him. His eyes widen upon seeing his son Leonardo making his way down the sewer tunnel. He quickly walked over to him with his arms up in an attempt to hug him, but found himself walking right through him.

"Leonardo?" Splinter gasped, looking down at his hands. He turned and stared at his son in bewilderment. "What has happened?" He asked him.

'Leo' smiled at his sensei. "I am gone father." He told him in a translucent voice. "I went to the surface and was attacked by the foot clan and Shredder. He tried to make me tell him where you were but I fought him," 'Leo' smiled sadly. "You would be proud of me; I died a warrior's death when I refused to talk."

Splinter's eyes widen in dismay and he shook his head. "No my son," He started to walk toward him with his hand held out. "Please say it is not so."

'Leo' nodded. "I'm sorry sensei." He told him. "I held out and told them nothing. Through all the pain and torture, I kept your whereabouts a secret." 'Leo' shook his head and placed his hand over his chest then slowly brought it down.

Splinter's eyes widen in shock upon seeing two deep slashes running down from the top of 'Leo's' plastron all the way to the bottom bleeding profusely. "No Leonardo." He continued to walk toward him, tears flowing freely down his face and shaking his head. "I did not want this." He whispered.

"I did it for you father." 'Leo' stated. "I did it to make sure you would be safe," Splinter watched as 'Leo' turned away from him. "And now I must go father." He smiled at him. "I love you, and don't worry, we'll be together again."

"No wait Leonardo!" Splinter called out. "Please my son," 'Leo' turned back to him. "Take me with you," Splinter pleaded. "It is because of me this happened," He whispered. "Let me come with you, please."

'Leo' smiled and held his hand out. "This way….father."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Donatello attempted to go back to the lab and continue with his experiments but as he was just about to cross the threshold, he once again heard the sound of laughter coming from behind him. He again found himself turning toward the main room and strained his ears, narrowing his eyes as the laughing he heard, once again sounded very much like April's, but this time it was joined by another. Donnie furrowed his eye ridges in consternation as he recognized the second laugh to be that of his brother Leonardo.

He very slowly and very nervously walked toward the couch, his eyes widening upon seeing his oldest brother and the girl he cared for sitting on the couch wrapped in each other's arms in a warm and loving embrace.

"April?" Donnie whispered. He shook his head in disbelief as he watched the two kiss and laugh while their hands roamed over each other's bodies. "Leo." He choked out as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Oh hi Donnie," 'Leo' said callously as he pulled away from 'April'. "Hey look April, it's Donnie."

"Hey D," 'April' said with a lilt in her voice as she brought 'Leo' up against her and the two started kissing again.

Donnie looked at them with sheer horror. His breath hitched and he clenched his fist. "Leo…wha…what are you doing!" He yelled out incredulously. He shook his head violently and brought his hands to his eyes. "This isn't happening…this isn't happening." He chanted over and over again, squeezing his eyes shut. "You're not really here, you can't really be here and doing this."

"Oh it's happening alright." 'Leo' sneered as 'April' laughed and began kissing 'Leo's' neck.

Donnie opened his eyes and looked at the two in dismay as they stood, still wrapped in a lover's embrace and smirked at him. "Why Leo," Donnie asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Why would you do this to me?" He looked between the two of them and let the tears fall. "You know how I feel about April, how could you just…" He turned to April. "I thought….how could you? And...and with my own brother?"

"Oh please Donnie." 'Leo' shook his head at him sarcastically. "As if a nerd like you could ever make a woman like her happy." 'Leo' and 'April' laughed and started nuzzling each other again. "April needs a real stud like me to give her what she really wants."

'April' laughed and looked over at Donnie. "And let's face it Donnie, I could never really _want_ something like _you_ ," She spat as Donnie continued to shake his head back and forth feeling completely numb.

"After all Donnie," 'Leo' said, his mouth running up and down 'April's' neck while his hands caressed her body. "All you'll ever be is a scientific **NOBODY**!"

Donnie let out a gasp and staggered backward, feeling as though he had just been slapped in the face several times over. He looked back up at 'April' and 'Leo' and watched as they continued to laugh, kiss and roam their hands over each other. "Please Leo, April, why are you doing this?"

"Why don't ya sit down and watch Donnie," 'Leo' sneered at him while 'April' moved her mouth up and down 'Leo's' plastron, "I'll show you how to really please a woman." The two began to lay down on the couch with 'Leo' on top of 'April'. "After all, a _nobody_ like you can use all the help he can get."

Donnie's fist shook and his face contorted in rage, he pulled out his bo from behind his back and slid the blade out. "I'll show you 'a nobody' Leo," He let out a loud scream and ran toward his brother in an attempt to run him through but 'Leo' and 'April' pulled apart and stood to the side, laughing as Donnie fell into the couch where they had just been.

"Like we said," 'April' mocked leering down at him. "A scientific nobody," Their laughter continued as Donnie turned onto his shell and glared up at them heatedly.

He gripped his bo harder and stood up once again. "Fight me Leo!" He screamed. "You want to show April you're the better turtle for her then FIGHT ME!" He again began to run toward 'Leo' with a loud yell when another loud angry yell sounded from the entrance of the lair.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, so I didn't want to make note of Leo and April being together but now that you read this part, please keep in mind like I said at the top of the page, this is strictly in Donnie's mind, same with the others. Okay, couple more chapters then this will be done.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight.

Leo turned and gasped in fright when a huge winged grayish black bird-like creature with a long beak that held razor sharp teeth and feet with long sharp claws came swooping down at him.

"What is that thing?" Leo yelled as he ducked and rolled to the side to avoid the sharp claws that attempted to clamp down on him.

"It is called Kidemonas." Empusae replied in a very cold tone. "I'm sure Raphael would have been able to deal with him by now."

Leo gritted his teeth and unsheathed his katanas as he scowled at her. "Looks like something from the prehistoric age." He muttered as looked up in time to see the creature turn and fly back toward him again. He swung his sword hard as the large bird swooped over him again and hit the thing hard on the leg but the sword did nothing to stop it. The creature hovered above Leo snapping its massive jaws at him while Leo blocked its attempts to clamp down on him. He fell onto his shell and kicked the creature in his chest as its jaws snapped on Leo's sword.

"You knew this thing was here," Leo screamed out as he attempted to keep the large creature at bay. "Didn't you?!"

"Of course I did Leonardo." Empusae said with a very nonchalant attitude. "If not for that thing, I probably wouldn't have even needed you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Empusae smirking at him as she continued to play her pendant over the sun stone making the stone grow brighter. "Why?" He demanded. "Why did you trick me?"

"It was the only way." She told him. "You would not have helped me if you knew the truth."

Leo thrust his sword upward in an attempt to run it through Kidemonas, but the large strange bird managed to wrap its huge claws around the metal. While Leo held onto the hilt of his sword, the creature forced it's self up bringing Leo with it.

"Then tell me what the truth is Empusae!" Leo demanded as he removed his other sword and swiped it at the bird's leg. Kidemonas released him and Leo fell to the ground. He glared angrily at Empusae. "Tell me why you really wanted me and my brothers here." He attempted to run to her but was once again cut off by Kidemonas.

Empusae smiled as she watched Leo swing his sword at the large creature. "Isn't it obvious Leonardo," She stated, "I wanted to bring you here, along with your brothers, so after I was done draining the sun stone, I could return to the surface and destroy the humans without your interference." She laughed.

Leo listened to what Empusae said while he attempted to keep the monster at bay. He shook his head in disbelief. "But why…why would you want to destroy the humans?!" He screamed as he once again ducked another swoop of Kidemonas.

"Because it is the humans and the Kraang and you pathetic mutants that are destroying MY WORLD!" She screamed at him. "When I returned to the surface the first time, I saw what the Kraang was doing to the Earth. I attempted to get my people to help me stop them but they refused. When I tried to get power from the sun stone, they fought me. I had no choice but to destroy them. But Kidemonas managed to stop me and get me out of the city. I went back to the surface and was captured by the Kraang who tried to lock me away for all eternity. Then…when I awoke this time and saw what had become of this world and what the people were doing to it, buildings in place of trees and gardens. Animals being hunted to extinction, oceans filled with filth and machines leaking what you call chemicals into the water and air. Even humans enslaved by other humans!" Empusae took a breath and Leo was certain he heard her voice crack. "And not one of them could care less!"

"That's not true." Leo told her as he blocked Kidemonas teeth. "People everywhere are trying hard to fix the things that are wrong!" He yelled while he swiped his katana across the large creature's wing. "If you could just…."

"NO!" Empusae yelled. "The humans and Kraang are to blame for all that has happened to this world and they must be destroyed." She seethed angrily as she continued to drain the sun stone with her pendant. "Once I remove them, I'll put this world back to the way it once was….it **WILL** be a paradise once again." She leered at Leo. "And I'll rule over it!"

She watched Leo out of the corner of her eye as he struggled with his katana against Kidemonas. "I needed you _and_ your brothers here simply to distract Kidemonas while I drain the sun stone, then I would leave you here to die," She hissed. "But I suppose this is just as easy. After all, your family and friends are dying of a very slow poison while you deal with Kidemonas and once the sun stone is drained, this city will crumble to dust." She let out a laugh and looked back at the sun stone. "My people tried to stop me the last time I attempted to drain this gem but this time…." She shook her head and Leo saw her eyes shine bright. "Nothing will stop me now." She looked around the large room in revulsion. "And I'll be rid of this prison for good."

Leo scowled at her. "Well after I'm done dealing with Kidemonas," Leo shouted as he continued to hit the creature over and over again with the katana in an attempt to stop its attack. "I'll deal with you." He let out a grunt as his sword once again connected with Kidemonas leg. "And I **WILL** stop you!"

"Foolish turtle," Empusae sneered. "You cannot kill Kidemonas anymore then you can kill me. As I once stated, compared to you, we are considered immortals and nothing you do will stop me…and the same goes for Kidemonas."

Leo again attempted to thrust his sword up and into Kidemonas only to have the large bird screech at him and swing its massive wing against him, causing him to fall hard onto his shell. Leo lay panting on the floor, watching as the bird flew up and prepared to fly back down at him. "You also told me you need the sun to survive," Leo reminded her. He rolled to the side and away from Kidemonas as it attempted to once again clamp its jaws upon him. But Leo jumped up and gave a hard round house kick to its face causing the thing to fly backward into one of the pillars, hitting it hard.

Leo then turned and with a loud yell, ran toward Empusae, his sword up and ready. Empusae looked up in time to see Leo jump into the air. Instinctively, she backed away from the stone and watched in horror as Leo brought his sword down, stabbing the sun stone right through the middle.

"NOOOO!" Empusae screamed as the stone suddenly shattered and a bolt of light shot forth. A strong gust of wind shot out and forced Leo and Empusae away from the pedestal and toward opposite ends of the room. As Empusae was flung away from the stone, the pendant flew from her hand landing several feet away.

"YOU FOOL!" Empusae yelled as she raised herself up. "You've ruined the stone," She attempted to get up and make her way toward her pendant but Leo, seeing it fly out of her hand very quickly and painfully got up and ran to where the pendant had fallen.

"How long do you live without your pendant Empusae!" He demanded to know.

Empusae's eyes widen and she let out a guttural scream as she watched Leo thrust his sword down into the pendant releasing its light into the air. Leo turned and shielded his eyes as the light from the stone and pendant came together above them and brightened the room in a blinding light before dispersing with a loud whoosh of air.

Leo opened his eyes and looked around. He stared at Empusae in bewilderment as she started laughing, slowly and low at first, then loudly and hysterically while throwing her head back and shaking hard.

"You stupid, foolish turtle!" She yelled. "You may have stopped me from getting what I want but you also just ruined any chance you had of getting to your family and saving their lives." She continued to laugh as Leo's face scowled angrily at her words.

Leo was about to retort when Empusae suddenly went from laughing to choking. He gasped in shock as Empusae's eyes widen in pain and her hands flew to her throat, her body convulsed and she fell back onto the floor.

Leo watched in growing alarm as she reached her hand out to him, her eyes pleading with him. He backed away as her body slowly began to deteriorate. Her skin turned ash white and slowly started to dissolve off her body. Her hair fell from her head and her eyes rolled within her skull. Leo shook with fear as he watched her bones slowly start to crumble and within seconds, what little was left of her, turn to dust leaving only her long black gown behind.

Leo fell to his knees as he watched the gown suddenly wither away into nothingness. "I know what I've done Empusae," He muttered to himself. "I just hope when this is all over, my family forgives me and we'll be together in the end."

Leo took a deep breath and brought his hands to his tired eyes, he began to sob softly as images of his family played in his mind and the horrible pain they might be going through. He grabbed his t-phone and started looking at the gallery of pictures. "I'm so sorry everyone." He muttered as he flipped from one picture to the other with tears slowly streaming down his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

A movement to the side of him caught his eye and he quickly grabbed his sword. He turned and held it up as he watched the winged creature stand to its full height. "Kidemonas," Leo hissed.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine.

Leo got into a defensive stance, watching as the large winged creature began to slowly creep toward him. He readied his katana, preparing to continue the fight when Kidemona's wings enveloped him and a strange glow suddenly surrounded him. Leo's eyes grew wide as he watched the creature dissolved away and a new form took its place. He stepped back in fear when he saw a tall man with a long dark beard, wrinkled face and deep ice-blue eyes stare back at him. He was dressed in a long black robe with symbols that Leo recognized to be Empusae's language. Leo slowly lowered his katana when the tall man brought his hand up.

"Do not fear me young one." The strange man said with a gentle voice. "I am Kidemonas in my true form, and I am only here to help you and to offer you my thanks."

Leo looked at him skeptically. "How you can help me?" He questioned, sheathing his katana. "My family is dying and there is nothing I can do." He looked down at his t-phone noting the hour. No matter how quickly he attempted to get back to the lair, he had a little more than two hours left and he knew there was no way he could get there within that amount of time. "Empusae made sure of that." He said quietly. As he spoke, the building began to shake and Leo looked around in growing apprehension.

The strange figure once again began to walk toward Leo. "I know what Empusae has done to you and your family child," He said. "But I _can_ help you." He stood before Leo and placed his hand on Leo's shoulder giving a comforting squeeze much like his Sensei would. "My city and I along with it…is dying." He smiled down at Leo. "But that doesn't mean you, or your family, needs to."

"What can you do?" Leo asked. "Unless you got some type of jet that can get me to my home in record time, I don't think there's much that can be done." He placed his t-phone in his belt and looked down dejectedly. "Besides, why would you help me?" He looked back up at him suspiciously. "If you could help anyone, why not help yourself and this city of yours."

Kidemonas gave a small, sad laugh. "When the Kraang began to transform the world above, I realized that there was no place for us on the surface anymore. But Empusae refused to believe that and attempted to drain the sun stone to use it's power in an attempt to destroy the Kraang, something that I and the rest of our people knew was not possible. We tried to stop her but she used the power of the sun stone to fight and destroy our people. After, I changed my form and chased her out before she could continue." Kidemonas looked down sadly and Leo saw a tear roll down his cheek. "I was more than willing to die with the rest of our people but I decided to wait and see if Empusae would return. I wanted to make it difficult for her to enter the city but I did not want to keep her out completely. If she was truly remorseful, she would have been able to come back without help. _I_ wanted her to come back and be with us once again. But when she did," Kidemonas shook his head and took a deep breath. "It was only to continue her conquest to drain the gem and take back a world we are no longer apart of." Kidemonas looked back at Leo. "No, my time is up and I look forward to joining my brothers and sisters in oblivion."

Leo felt an ache in his heart at hearing Kidemonas's words but he pushed it aside with the thought of getting to his family."Okay, but how are you going to help me get home and cure my family?" Leo braced himself as the city again shook violently. "Empusae didn't give me the antidote to the poison and my ten hours is almost up."

Kidemonas removed a pendant from under his robe and held it up for Leo to see. "Like Empusae, I also carry a small amount of the sun stone's power with me to keep my form for as long as was necessary." He looked back at the pedestal. "While the sun stone itself kept the city alive, I did not draw from its power there, only from here." He placed the pendant in Leo's hand. "And now, you will draw the power from the sun stone to save your family.

Leo blinked down at the pendant in curiosity. Even through the gold metal casing, he could feel some sort of energy emanating from it. He looked back at Kidemonas with hope in his eyes as his hands wrapped around the piece of jewelry. "How do I get home in time?" He whispered.

Kidemonas held his hand up and waved it around in a circle a few times before bringing it back to his side and smiling at Leo. "This portal will assist you in getting you home." He told him as Leo turned to look behind him upon hearing the sound of rushing air.

There behind him, was a watery swirl slowly opening up. Leo stepped back in awe as a doorway opened to show the dojo coming into view. "My home," Leo breathed. Another strong shockwave shook the city and Leo jumped when a piece of the ceiling came crashing down near him and shattered into several pieces. He turned back to Kidemonas and was surprise to see he was no longer there. 'Well, here goes nothing.' Leo thought as he made his way over to the portal. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and stepped through. A loud whoosh of air behind him had him turning around to see the portal was now gone.

Leo looked down at the pendant in his hands. 'Okay, now to get to my…..' A sudden loud and angry yell coming from the main room interrupted Leo's thoughts and had him running from the dojo. He stopped short and gasped in horror when he saw Donnie and Casey in a furious battle, actually trying to smash their sticks against each other.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD YOU MUTANT FREAK!" Casey screamed as Donnie ducked a swing to his head that Leo was certain would have cracked his brother's skull open had he not moved in time.

"YOU'RE GOING TO HELL JONES AND I'M THE ONE TO SEND YOU THERE!" Donnie screamed back as he twirled and smashed his stick hard into Casey's back.

Casey stumbled and fell into the couch. He turned and blocked a death blow from Don's bo then brought his foot up and kicked Donnie in the mouth hard. Donnie reeled back and fell to the ground. He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and ran his tongue along his teeth tasting blood. He growled angrily and jumped off the floor bringing his bo up over his head while Casey jumped off the couch and brought his stick to the side.

"STOP!" Leo screamed. He ran toward them and brought his katanas up and out toward the two of them blocking their swings. He kicked Casey in the stomach forcing him back onto the couch while at the same time he pushed Donnie backward.

Casey fell onto the couch and grabbed his stomach as he temporarily felt the wind knocked out of his lungs. While Casey was somewhat incapacitated, Leo turned to Donnie. "Donatello!" Leo yelled out as he kept his katana against Donnie's bo. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"YOU!" Donnie screamed at him. He shot his foot out and kicked Leo in the stomach. "HOW COULD YOU LEO?" He yelled as he brought his bo down on Leo's katana several times over. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIKE HER…WHY WOULD YOU HURT ME LIKE THAT?!"

Leo kept blocking Donnie's swings as he listened to him in bewilderment. "Donnie, I….I don't know what you're talking about." Leo insisted.

"You laughing at me, cutting me down and MAKING OUT WITH APRIL!" Donnie screamed as Leo looked at him in shock.

Leo's eyes widen in shock. "Donnie I would never do that to you!" Leo told him. 'And I would never make out with April,' He thought to himself. He threw his katana down and, dodging Donnie's bo, ran toward his brother and brought him into a hug. He placed the pendant against Donnie's head and breathed hard. "I love you Donnie." He told him. "I could never hurt you bro."

Donnie let his bo drop and Leo could feel him suddenly go limp. He pulled him back and gently lowered him to the floor. "Donnie?" Leo stared at him. "Are you alright."

Donnie searched the room then looked up into Leo's eyes in bewilderment. He opened his mouth to say something but his eyes suddenly went wide. "Look out!"

Donnie grabbed Leo and the two rolled to the side as Casey was just about to bring his hockey stick down on Leo's head. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU FREAKS" He screamed. "I'll show my dad you pathetic mutants can't get the best of me!"

"Casey…what are you doing?" Donnie yelled as he and Leo backed away from the hockey swinging vigilante.

"Always trying to take April from me!" Casey continued. "I'll show you! No one messes with what's mine!"

Donnie looked at Leo in confusion. "What's he talking about?" Donnie demanded breathing hard as he and Leo jumped up and backed away. "What's going on?"

"It's the poison!" Leo explained. "Try and grab him and I'll bring him out of it."

Donnie and Leo once again dodged a swing by Casey. Donnie rolled and ended up behind Casey while Leo jumped back, staying out of Casey's reach while putting the pendant in his hand. As soon as Donnie could, he grabbed Casey from behind and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly as Casey struggled desperately to get out of his grip.

"LET ME GO YOU PATHETIC MUTANT!" Casey screamed. "I'LL MURDER YOU FOR ALWAYS TRYING TO TAKE APRIL FROM ME!"

"Casey…Stop!" Leo ran to him and placed his hands on Casey's face, forcing him to look at him. "We're not your enemy." He told him, looking into his eyes intently. "We're your friends."

Casey blinked at Leo in confusion than looked around the room as though he had no idea where he was. Donnie slowly released him as he felt Casey slowly relax in his arms. "Leo?" Casey looked down at Leo in bewilderment then walked away from Donnie, turning to look at him in puzzlement. "What….what the hell's going on?"

"Everything's alright now Casey." Leo assured him. "But now I got to find the others. Any idea where Raph, Mikey and Sensei could be?"

Both Donnie and Casey frowned thoughtfully as they attempted to remember what had happened. "I think Raph and Sensei went to the Left to try and find you and April." Donnie told him.

"Yeah, and Mikey and I went to the right to try and find the two of you." Casey said as he sat down on the couch.  
Leo nodded and looked at the two in concern. "Are you guys okay?"

"My head is killing me." Donnie admitted.

"Yeah, mine too." Casey stated, messaging his temples.

Leo forced Donnie to sit on the couch. "You two stay here and just try to relax. I'll go looking for the others and bring them home." They looked up at him and nodded. Leo turned and ran toward the turnstiles. He jumped over them and turned to the right, running down the sewer tunnels calling out Mikey's name.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten.

Leo ran down the tunnel, looking and listening for any signs of his brother while calling out for him. After several minutes, he stopped and strained his hearing, certain he had heard someone calling back to him, pleading with him to stop. He slowly began to walk toward the sound of what he could only discern as crying. As he made his way closer, he could hear Mikey's voice, crying out to him and begging him for forgiveness. The sound his baby brother made caused an ache in Leo's heart and he quickly removed the pendant from his belt, rubbing it gently between his fingers as he came closer to Mikey.

"I'm sorry Leo." Mikey cried softly. "I didn't mean to be such a disappointment to you, please don't hate me." Leo watched as Mikey held the sharp edge of his kama against his wrist, slowly rocking it back and forth in an attempt to cut into his flesh. "I'll go away Leo." Mikey said, crying harder. "I'll go away and leave you alone just please….please don't hate me anymore."

"I've never hated you Mikey." Leo whispered, coming behind Mikey and placing the hand that held the pendant on Mikey's shoulder. "I could never hate you, I…I love you," He said swallowing a lump in his throat. "You're my little brother."

Mikey turned to look at Leo, sniffling and hiccupping; he wiped his eyes and looked at Leo in confusion. "You do Leo?" He asked. Leo smiled and brought Mikey into a hug. After a few moments, they stood up and Mikey looked around scratching his head in bewilderment. "Leo?"

"Yeah Mikey," Leo looked at Mikey with concern.

"What's going?" Mikey looked back at Leo with a puzzled expression then at his wrist which was starting to bleed lightly. "Why are we out here?" He grabbed his head and winced in pain. "And what was I doing to myself?"

Leo smiled in relief and maneuvered Mikey back toward the lair. "I'll explain everything later," He told him. "Right now, I've got to find Sensei and Raph. You get back to the lair with Donnie and Casey. Have Donnie take a look at your wrist and then get some rest. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Mikey nodded and turned toward the lair while Leo continued down the tunnel. A short time later, he again could hear soft sobbing and a voice pleading with him. He rounded a corner and saw Raph sitting in front of a sewer wall with his sai in hand. Leo's breath caught in his throat when he saw Raph slowly digging the tip of the prong into the flesh of his wrist.

"I'm sorry Leo." Raph whispered, wincing in pain as he pushed the tip into his wrist. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Leo could hear Raph's voice quake. "I'll come with you; I won't let you die alone." Leo slowly crept up to Raph, cringing as he saw Raph's wrist bleeding slightly from a small puncture wound he was trying to make bigger. "I'll always be with you."

"Then be with me Raph." Leo whispered softly. "Be with me in the here and now." Leo fingered the pendant as he reached out to Raph and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. Raph stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Leo behind him. "I'm right here Raph." He told him. "I never want to leave you either."

Raph faced Leo and stared at him in confusion. Leo slowly brought Raph into a hug and Raph very slowly brought his arms up to wrap around Leo's shell. "Leo?" Raph whispered. "What's going on?" They pulled apart and Raph looked down at his wrist. "What…what happened to my wrist?"

"Long story," Leo said as they stood up. "Get back to the lair and have Donnie take care of your wrist. I'll explain everything after I find Splinter."

Raph nodded slowly, his eyes looking around and like the others, showing confusion. "Yeah right," He muttered as Leo led him to the tunnel that would lead him back to the lair. "I'll get back to the lair." He put his hand to his head and massaged his temples as he started walking toward the lair.

Leo watched as Raph began his trek back home. He let out a deep sigh and turned to go further into the tunnels to find his Sensei.

Meanwhile, Splinter was following 'Leo' through the sewers. Every now and then he would stop and look around in consternation. He furrowed his brow and more than once attempted to turn back. "Father?" 'Leo' watched him and held his hand toward him. "It's just a bit further."

Splinter looked at him and shook his head. "Something is not right." He muttered.

"Please father," 'Leo' slowly walked over to him. "Please don't abandon me now." Splinter's eyes widen and he reached out to touch him but once again his hand went through him. "I died for you." 'Leo' reminded him, pointing once again to the wounds on his plastron. "Please come with me." He turned and continued down the tunnel. "We'll be together and soon….there will be no more pain."

Splinter smiled and continued to follow. "No more pain." He repeated, his voice sounding far away.

"There will be no more fighting." Leo told him. "We'll be at peace."

"Yes, at peace." Splinter echoed, sounding mesmerized. Up ahead, the sound of rushing water could be heard and Splinter watched as 'Leo' pointed toward an opening.

"Just a few more feet father and we'll be together forever." 'Leo' smiled as Splinter walked past him toward a walkway where several feet below was a spill-off collection chamber that drained out to the ocean. Splinter looked down at the rushing water, his feet slowly moving toward the railing of the walkway. Beside him, 'Leo' watched intently. "Do it father," He urged. "Join me and we'll be together forever."

Splinter continued to look at the rushing water, hesitating to move toward the railing. "But…your brothers," He muttered as he once again felt a feeling of confusion come over him. "And Miwa."

"They will be with us soon." 'Leo' assured him. Splinter watched as 'Leo' stepped off the walkway and slowly began to descend toward the water. "Come with me father." He called bringing his hand to him. "Let's be together…forever."

Splinter reached his hand out to Leo in an attempt to grab onto him, but the 'apparition' continued to descend downward. Now filled with a strange longing, Splinter slowly reached out and grasped onto the top railing. He placed his foot on the bottom railing and began to hoist himself up. He slowly swung himself over to the outside of the railing and braced himself against it. He removed his right hand and took a deep breath. "I will join you my son." He yelled out over the water. "I love you."

"I love you too Sensei!" A voice said loudly behind him.

Splinter turned in confusion and looked over to see his son, completely unharmed but panting hard and sweating profusely, coming toward him, holding his hand out and beckoning him to come toward him. "Leonardo?" Splinter looked at him then turned back and stared down into the swirling water. "What….what is happening?" He took hold of the railing with both hands and looked between Leo and the water far beneath him in fear.

"Sensei," Leo began, taking in deep breaths. "Please come to me." He begged. "I'm right here and…and I want to go home." Leo's eyes darted to the long drop between the walkway and the basin. He didn't know how he knew to come this way but something in his gut told him this was the way to go and he was glad he listened.

As he had searched desperately for Splinter, his mind reeled with all that he had seen his brothers doing. Donnie and Casey were actually attempting to kill each other in a jealous rage; both Mikey and Raph attempting to kill themselves due to an overwhelming sense of guilt, and over him no less. Leo shook his head, he couldn't understand it but if his brothers had reacted that way, it made sense that his Sensei would also attempt to kill himself, possibly due to guilt as well.

It was only by chance he went the way he did and when he saw his Sensei climbing over the railing, his heart had skipped a beat. "I want to go home with you Sensei," He continued, licking his lips nervously. "Where everyone is waiting for us," He came upon the railing and placed his hand with the pendant in his palm on Splinter's hand. "So please….please come down from there and let's go home."

Splinter again looked from the swirling water far below him then back to Leo. He nodded slowly, his brow still furrowed in confusion as he began to once again climb over the railing and back onto the walkway with Leo holding tightly to his hand. Splinter placed both feet on the walkway, grasping Leo's shoulder with his other hand then slowly falling to the floor bringing his hand up to his head and groaning softly. Leo quickly flung his arms around his father and held him tight.

"Everything's alright now Sensei." Leo told him, trying to calm his own nerves as Splinter wrapped his arms around him. "Everyone's okay now."

Splinter nodded then pulled away slightly. "Yes my son." Splinter said, smiling at him. "Let us go home." He stood and the two slowly made their way back to the lair. "I am sure there is quite a story behind what has been happening."

"You have no idea Sensei." Leo stated with a slight chuckle. The two made their way back to the lair where they found everyone sitting on the couch, bandages adorned Casey and Donnie's head while Mikey and Raph had bandages on their wrist. They sat in silence, occasionally looking around; the confusion still clear in their eyes. They all looked up when Leo and Splinter walked in.

As soon as Splinter and Leo sat on the couch, the other turtles and Casey immediately demanded to know what had happened. Splinter held his hand up. "Although I too am curious as to what has been happening," He said while stroking his long whisker, "Perhaps we should first find April."

"That's right!" Donnie exclaimed jumping up. "We went looking for **both** of you." He said turning to Leo. "So what happened to her?"

"She was never here." Leo said as he too jumped off the couch with everyone looking at him in puzzlement. "But I think I know where she is." His brothers and Casey quickly followed him out while Splinter stayed behind. After they had gone, he made his way into the dojo to meditate and wait for his sons and their friends to return.

Ten minutes after they left, the turtles stood on the fire escape outside April's apartment, watching through the window as Casey walked into her bedroom. He turned on the light and all could see the small figure bundled up underneath her blankets, still sleeping peacefully. Casey walked over to the window and opened it allowing the turtles to enter.

"April?" Casey walked over to her and gently shook her shoulder. "April!" He called louder. He looked up at the turtles and shook his head. "She's not waking up." He told them.

Donnie could feel panic rising up from the bottom of his stomach. "We have to do something." He insisted rather angrily. He walked over to April and placed a finger on her neck feeling her pulse. "Her pulse is strong," He noted. "It's like she's in a deep sleep."

"Maybe someone should kiss her." Mikey suggested with a shrug. "You know, like in 'Sleeping Beauty'."

Both Donnie and Casey's eyes widen in anticipation but Leo quickly stepped forward. "She's under a spell alright but it's not a 'true love' spell." He said looking at the two of them rather disgustedly. He took out his pendant and placed it on April's shoulder.

"April," Leo said quietly as he shook her shoulder gently. "April?"

A few seconds later, everyone watched as April hummed sleepily and moved her head slightly back and forth. They all took a collective sigh of relief when April's eyes fluttered opened and she smiled up at them lazily. "Hey guys." She said as she slowly sat up. She looked at the five boys staring at her in bewilderment as she realized they were in her bedroom. "Wha…what's going on?" She asked rather nervously. "Why are you all here?" Her eyes suddenly widen. "OH NO!" She exclaimed jumping out of her bed. "Did I miss the party?!" She quickly ran to her closet and began pulling out clothes.

"It's okay April." Raph said, putting his hand on her shoulder to help calm her. "You weren't the only one who missed the party," He turned to Leo. "Apparently…we all did." She looked back at him in confusion.

"Maybe we should all leave so you can get dress," Casey suggested.

"Yeah and we'll all go back to the lair where Leo can explain exactly what has been going on." Donnie added.

Everyone nodded and several minutes later, the six teens made their way back to the lair. They entered and went directly to the kitchen where they found Master Splinter making tea. They all sat down and listened intently as Leo explained in great detail, what had taken place that night.

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Okay everyone, one more chapter and this story will be done. Sure would love to see some reviews and to those that you, thank you.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven, Epilogue

Five days later, the four turtles made their way through the tunnel Empusae had led Leo down to get to her city. On their shells, they had their climbing equipment along with their turtle gliders and grappling hooks to assist them in getting down and back up the cliff of the Undercity.

Since hearing about Leo's adventure, his brothers had insisted they be brought to see this city Empusae had brought him to. As they trudge through the sewer, his brothers couldn't help but question him about what had happened.

"So all that time she wanted you, or us," Donnie questioned, rubbing his finger along his chin as he followed his brothers. "To help her just so she could keep this guy Kidemonas busy while she drained the stone?"

"That," Leo agreed. "As well as keep us down here for the rest of our lives while she killed every human and Kraang on the face of the planet so she could have what was taken from her." Leo took a deep breath as he remembered how close that came to almost happening.

"She sure didn't expect you to destroy that gem stone, huh Leo?" Mikey said chuckling.

"No," Leo nodded. "I guess she underestimated us."

"Yeah," Raph gave Leo a playful punch. "Like they all do."

"Whaddaya mean us?" Mikey asked looking at him sideways. "We didn't do anything." He pointed to Leo. "So you mean she underestimated _you_."

"No…I mean _us_." Leo said smiling. He turned to look at his brothers. "We're a team after all and it's because of you guys I did what I did." His smile faltered and he looked down feeling both guilty and sad. "I knew there was no way I could get back to you before the time was up. And if you were going to die," He shrugged. "I couldn't go on without you." He turned and continued walking. "I figured it was just as easy to destroy Empusae and let my end come then go home and find you all…." Leo stopped talking and swallowed hard.

Donnie put his hand on Leo's shoulder. "We know Leo." He said. "We probably would have done the same thing if we had been in your shoes."

"Uhhh, dude," Mikey blinked in confusion at Donnie. "We don't wear shoes."

The others laughed and continued down the tunnel. A few minutes later, Leo led them to the end of the tunnel and pointed. "That's where the 'city' used to be." He said. They looked out of the tunnel and across a large body of water that surrounded the rocky mountain with what appeared to be a structure made of stone that had crumbled to the ground.

"Wow!" Donnie exclaimed, his eyes roaming over the grand scene. "This is incredible!"

The four turtles carefully made their way down the rocky slope and over to where the large black obelisk stood. While Donnie inspected the writing on it, the other three carefully walked toward the edge of the cliff.

"Whoa…" Mikey breathe, carefully looking down the black void. "That looks really, really deep."

"Yeah, be careful Mikey." Leo warned.

"And there's supposed to be a bridge of some sort fearless?" Raph questioned.

Leo nodded. "Right here," He told him. He looked back at Donnie and the obelisk. "According to the writing on that pillar," He said watching as Donnie took his t-phone out and began snapping pictures. "If you have a child like view, you can cross the chasm."

"Well, I don't know about you bros." Mikey nervously stepped away from the edge, "Bridge or no bridge, I don't feel like crossing it."

"The bridge was probably destroyed anyway Mikey." Leo told him.

The three turtles joined the fourth back at the column. Donnie turned to them rather excitedly. "Let's get back to the lair." He told them urgently. "There's something about these hieroglyphics that look really familiar."

"Really Don." Leo looked at him questioningly. "How is that?" They began making their way back up the rocky slope to where the tunnel's entrance was.

"I've been studying a lot of ancient writings and if I'm right about these symbols," Donnie said as they all walked into the tunnel. "They're part of what appear to be from the lost city of Atlantis!"

Leo looked at Donnie in dismay. He turned back to the entrance and looked out over the vastness to the mountain where Empusae's and Kidemonas's city once lay as a deep feeling of sadness overcame him.

"Hey Leo?" Raph looked at him in concern. "Are you okay bro?"

Leo shook his head. "They were the last of their kind." He whispered sadly. "And all they ever wanted to do was to just live in peace." He turned back to his brothers. "What's going to happen to us if the Kraang succeed in their plans to take over the earth?" He questioned. "Will we end up like them?"

Raph put his arm around Leo's shoulders and coaxed him to continue to walk. "No Leo." He told him. "We won't end up like them."

"Yeah Leo," Donnie agreed. "It's like you said…we're a team after all."

Mikey put his hand in front of his brothers and they formed a small circle. "And together, we're gonna take those creepy Kraang freaks down!"

His brothers smiled and one by one, put their hands one on top of the other. "Okay team." Leo smiled. "Let's get home."

Leo let his brothers get ahead of him; he then took one last look back at the 'city' and smiled.

 _~The End~_

So I will not be continuing this since we all know what happens with them and the Kraang. I have some more stories to write so keep a look out and for those of you who have begun to read some of my old stories, please don't hesitate to leave a review. I hope you all enjoyed my story and as always, please Read and Review. Peace and Love. J


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